Bon Jovi brings back the '80s at Hersheypark Stadium

Why has Bon Jovi persevered when other bands of the ’80s have faded away?

“They respect their fans, and they respect their music,” said Victoria Siegrist, 53, of Lebanon, a longtime fan at her third show who brought daughter Morgan, 22, to her first as a graduation present. “They’re real; they don’t try to be more than they are.”

“Their music seems to speak to normal people, and they haven’t changed their sound,” said Jennifer Rovan, 33, of Johnstown, a fan since the fifth grade and attending her 13th show.

Her husband, Moe, 40, said, “His songs are an inspiration to all of humanity.”

“They keep writing good music [but] they always do something a little different to keep the imagination [going],” said Kurt Scherlinsky, 49, of Carlisle, a fan since the beginning but who was at his first show.

“Their music is not cheap, it’s not sleazy — it has emotion, and it makes me feel good when I listen to it,” he said.

“You can’t help but move to his music — it exudes sexiness,” said Maria Noss, 31, of New Cumberland, attending her second show while pregnant with daughter Avery, due in August. “[And Jon Bon Jovi] does a lot of charity work — he’s not out there in Us Weekly doing stupid things. He’s a family man and he seems to stick to that.”

The new track “We Weren’t Born to Follow,” much in the sonic mold of many Bon Jovi hits, followed with its rousing, uplifting message.

But they still know how to have the fun they had in the 1980s, blasting through “You Give Love a Bad Name” with enough energy to take away any concern of being dated.

Jon Bon Jovi was in strong voice throughout — he might be singing better now than he did then. The wonderful groove of “Whole Lot of Leavin’ ” led into a punchy “Born to Be My Baby” and a lush “Lost Highway.”

A midset highlight was the new track “When We Were Beautiful,” a wry, regretful tale of lost youth, but one still full of hope. For Bon Jovi, the glass is always half full. Another well-received new track was “Superman Tonight,” and the thundering, sexy groove of “We Got It Goin’ On” broke the thoughtful mood nicely.

A raucous “Bad Medicine” and a powerful “It’s My Life” came next in rapid succession. “Love’s the Only Rule” was a nice moment, Bon Jovi finally venturing out onto the giant catwalk that projected into the crowd and urging the crowd, in a whisper, to sing.

Sambora lent his gritty, bluesy voice to “Lay Your Hands On Me,” and Jon Bon Jovi did a lovely turn on the romantic and sweet “Make a Memory.”

The two joined forces on the catwalk for “I’ll Be There For You,” belting out some great harmonies — Bon Jovi potent on the melody, Sambora soaring above. While Bon Jovi might have spoken of being rusty, he was being modest — the band’s performance quality is still there in spades, even after a long layoff.

A smoking little set by Baltimore’s Charm City Devils and a longer one by Harrisburg’s own Fuel kicked things off. But the headliners would not be upstaged — age and life experience and a wider range of songwriting interests have made Bon Jovi a better band than they were in their heyday.

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